Electro-medical apparatus

ABSTRACT

An electro-medical apparatus for receiving bio-electrical signals from a human body. At least 17 electrodes are applied to specific areas of the body of the patient. The signals received therein are automatically processed by a personal computer which analyzes the health state of the patient by way of specific software. An expert system can additionally be included which includes control software, analysis software and interpretation software to provide the physician with first indication data about the health of the patient and with possible modes of intervention, so that the physician can arrive at a substantially definitive interpretation of the health state of the patient.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electro-medical apparatus comprisinga plurality of electrodes, which are adapted to receive bio-electricalsignals emitted by an individual, in correspondence of specific areas ofhis body and comprising means for collecting data collected by theelectrodes, so that said signals could be analyzed and a substantiallyobjective evaluation of the equilibrium of the body functions at thelevel of said specific areas could be performed.

2. Discussion of the Background

For decades, engineers have attempted to facilitate the analysis and thediagnosis of the human body functions as well as to help physicians inthe objective evaluation of the patient's health.

It has been about twenty years since German physicians were able toacquire the bio-electrical signals, which are emitted in correspondenceof specific areas of the human body, and so they obtained from thesedata bio-electrical information of an individual, who is examined by aphysician. It is well known that the human body emits electrical signalsin correspondence of its specific areas. Said signals, duly picked-upand amplified, allow to translate the signals (microampere, microvolt,ohm, conductance, frequency, etc.) into data, which are related to themore or less normal equilibirum of the examinated individual.

The first apparatuses, which were conceived in Germany, would analyzethe bio-electrical state of seven areas of the human body, as well asproceed in the reading of the electrical potential, stimulate themeasure area with a 10 Hz. impulse package in order to remeasure theconduttance in that area, to make the passive reading of the (inverse)current discharge, stimulate again the measure area with an invertedcurrent impulses, read again the value of said current and therefore ofthe electrical potential. Said current was repeated seven times on sevenhuman body areas.

The information, which was collected from the seven analyzed areas, hadto to be evaluated according to a substantially objective way from thephysician, who had used the bio-medical apparatus. The important factwas made of the method, which allowed to use the bio-electronicinformation and allowed to make a diagnostic interpretation. Already atthe time the collected information should be based on a statisticinterpretation, but it was recognized that this information would provethe normality or the abnormality of a certain area of the body, forinstance the patient's head.

It should be pointed out that the electromedical apparatuses, which werefirst manufactured in Germany, were able to give the physician a seriesof data, which were then translated into graphics. These graphics wererather difficult to decipher, whereby at least some years were necessaryfor the physician to approximately interpret these data.

The German manufacturers of said apparatuses arrived to a considerablesophistication as far as the electrical data measure in some human bodyareas is concerned, as well as to involve acupuncture therapies, Chinesemedicine, etc. But they limited themselves to substantially decode theelectrical data of these measures and to simplify their interpretation.

In the U.S.A. the analysis technique of electrical potentials has beenused mainly as encephalograms, sleep state measurement, and so on, butnot as bio-functional measures, i.e. the measures, which provideelements for arriving to a certain diagnosis and to say, on thecollected data basis, whether a certain organ of the human body isworking or not and how much this working departs from a normal state.

Meanwhile it is to be pointed out that said bio-functional measurespresent a further important advantage, i.e. they can record according toa specific way the health state of an individual and a further analysis,which confirm the same data, should just correspond to the sameindividual and never to another one.

As for Japan, they just started to develop a similar apparatus and wewould likely learn quite soon interesting news in the field of thebio-electronic.

The German school of the bio-functional measures has achieved up toindicate the electrical signals (conductance, current, etc.), which arepresent in correspondence of specific areas of the human body andsuggest, by comparison and by survey, a rather reduced interpretation ofthe collected data. It could be a further big success for the producersof such an apparatus to use it after a shorter time, which is requestedfor a good training even with the help of a data bank.

In general, physicians who use a scientific apparatus require that thesame apparatus should give the elements of a certain result, i.e. of acertain diagnosis, whereas the same physicians intend to arrive todefinitive diagnostic conclusions. Therefore, what is important is thatapparatus could supply a certain outline, whereas the physician shouldverify the outline which is given by the apparatus.

On the basis of the collected data, which are not subjected in Germanyto particular processing or decoding, further measures could suggest tothe physician the possible patient change of state, whereby the mostcritical point depends on the results of the first examination, becauseit is much easier to make a comparison of the data collected later onwith the data previously collected.

In order to summarize what up to now was explained, the similar Germanapparatuses provide data, which are often subject to a difficult,subjective interpretation, whereby a risk is present in the possibilityof errors in such an interpretation.

As for the safety of these apparatuses, the German ones are generallyworking with a power supply of 220 V. 50 Hz., which could affect thepatient state and the response of the apparatus. In the field of thebio-electronics the energy supply should be substantially insulated. Thesignal, which is emitted by the apparatuses, should be quite clean,whereas the German ones don't respect such a requirement because theywere conceived about 20 years ago, when the microelectronics was not inthe condition to give substantially better resolutions.

The interpretation of the tests, which were carried out by the Germanapparatuses, was depending on the diagram plotted on a sheet of paper,with no reference to digital values for a rather quantitativeinterpretation of the data.

The main problem, which the apparatus according to the invention intendsto solve, is to propose an instrument of the bio-energetical-functionaltype, which should be able to evaluate whether and to what extent thevarious organs or systems of the patient are working how much theydepart from the optimum conditions, which organ or system could be theorigin of the problem and, at last, how to prevent such deviations fromthe optimum conditions.

It should be observed that at least two different schools are present inthe medical field: the first one belongs to the classic school, whichsuggests after ascertaining the presence of a disease to intervene inorder to eliminate the disease. The bio-energetical-functional schooldoes trouble to establish the presence of an abnormal state, but mainlyit does trouble how much the present state of the patient is departingfrom a normal state, as well as when and according to which extent thepatient is improving during and after a therapy. The bio-electronicalscience intends to prevent and to monitor the therapy through awell-timed and continuous control of the evolutive and involutivepatient state.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This problem is solved by the apparatus according to the invention,which is characterized by at least seventeen areas of the human body onwhich the electrodes are able to operate through the data collection, inorder to confine substantially narrower human body areas andconsequently to increase the passage tracks of the collectedinformation, means being provided for a substantially automatedprocessing of the collected data.

A further goal of the apparatus according to the invention intends toreach is to decode within real times and according to substantiallyreliable way the bio-electrical information collected by the apparatusso as to help the physician by providing him with substantially moredetailed data.

This problem is solved by the apparatus according to the invention,which is characaterized in that it is able to substantially decode andto process all the bio-electrical information which are provided by theelectrodes and to present them according to a digital shape, so that thesoftware of the PC could analyze the health state of the patient byleaving aside the necessity of graphs, charts and similar objects.

Another advantage of the present invention is the opportunity to analyzethe patient's health state organ by organ. Specifically, the presentinvention permits comparing any specific situation with a series of datastatistically collected from a data bank, so that the physician couldevaluate the criticality of a particular situation, said situation beingable to be related with other specific situations.

The above advantages are provided by the apparatus according to theinvention, which is characterized by at least an "expert system" whichcomprises at least a control software adapted to control the sameapparatus, a analysis software adapted to decode the electricalinformation collected from the various areas of the body and totranslate them into graphs and an interpretation software adapted toprovide the physician with first indication data about the health stateof the patient and with possible modes of intervention, in order toallow the physician to arrive to a substantially definitiveinterpretation of the health state of the patient.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Said and further features of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description and from the accompanying drawings, where:

FIG. 1 represents a schematic perspective view of the apparatusaccording to the invention;

FIG. 2 represents a sample of bipolar graph processed by the apparatus;

FIG. 3 represents a humanoid provided with the areas which weresubjected to reading.

FIG. 4 represents a flowchart of a method of obtaining information froma human body according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The apparatus according to the invention comprises a plurality ofelectrodes 1a,1b,1c,1d,1e,1f,1g which are adapted to be applied invarious areas of a human body of FIG. 3 (3=right arm, 4=the right partof pelvis, 5=the right leg, 1=the head, 11=the left leg). The electrode1a is to be applied to the head, the electrodes 1b,1c are to be appliedto the arms and to the legs, respectively right and left, the electrodes1d,1e to the respectively right and left body parts, the electrodes1f,1g to the respectively right and left foot.

The electrical signals of the various body areas are collected by ahardware 12, which as it will be apparent later on the signals areaddressed to the software of a PC 14 so that they can processed andreported on a bipolar graph 16 (FIG. 2). In such a graph the data areprocessed by the PC, are separated according to each examined area (theareas are seventeen) along the abscissa, whereas the ordinate representsthe positive and negative values for each examined area. The positivevalues represent over-values and the negative values the under-values.

The apparatus according to the invention operates according to thefollowing way.

the values of the electrical tension are detected in correspondence ofthe seventeen areas of the human body, whereby the relevant situation ofthese areas is stored in the hardware 12;

later the various areas are stimulated with a low electrical voltagehaving a frequency of about 13 Hz; the response is recorded;

at first the feet of the patient are involved, which are put on theelectrodes 1f,1g. In such a way the organism is excited in order tobring the patient to an active bio-electrical level. Thanks to the lowelectrical voltage having a frequency of about 13 Hz, the patient couldbecome diagnosable. Indeed the patient's conditions vary hour by hourduring the day, whereby the reading of the detected values couldsubstantially vary during the day. In the German apparatus the patientis subjected to a shock from temperature or from pain;

the feet are subjected to a positive and then negative value of theelectrical tension, in order to depolarize the excited area, during 13sec.

The graph of FIG. 2 reveals the maximum bio-energetical over-alterationin correspondence of the areas 3,6,11, whereas it reveals the minimumbio-energetical under-alteration ion correspondence of the areas 4,5.The circles A,B of the humanoid represent respectively the two detectedareas as abnormal areas.

The described apparatus is also able to provide samples of uni-polargraphs, which are not represented in the drawings. In addition thehardware 12 should be controlled by and should be directly depending onthe PC 14, which practically is not autonomous. Indeed also the hardware12 is internally provided of a software, which is not represented in thedrawings. The hardware 12 and the PC 14 are able to dialogue each onewith the other through the interface in the hardware 12. For instance ifa value of electrical tension is read in the area 1 (FIG. 2), this valueis read and stored in the hardware 12, which is transducted into adigital language in order to send it to the PC.

As shown in FIG. 4, the logical sequence of the process practicallyprovides the following phases:

all the values of electrical tension of the various areas are detected(step 100) and stored (step 110) into the hardware 12;

the patient is stimulated in correspondence of his feet with a lowelectrical voltage having a frequency of about 13 Hz (step 120) so thatthe test could become objective after the patient has obtainedsubstantially optimum bio-electrical condition;

in correspondence of each one of the seventeen areas a stimulus isemitted (step 130) and the reply is stored (step 140 and 150) as a wholefor one first and a second time;

after stored all the digital information, such an information is storedin a so-called "expert system" which analyzes the digital data. Such ananalysis is carried out by said "system" for a comparison with thestatistical data (step 160), which were collected during the last 20years, and which allow to ascertain whether the digital data arecomprised into the ranges or not. Such an "expert system" comprises atleast a control software, which controls the hardware 12, an analysissoftware, which decodes the electrical information collected in thevarious areas of the body and represents them in mono- or bi-polargraphs (step 170), and at last an interpretation software, whichprovides the physician a first indication of the patient health state.Such a software practically represents the software of the PC 14;

the PC processes the mono- or bi-polar graphs, so that the areas, whichare affected by a bio-energectical-functional excess or lack;

the information, which are represented by the test data, allow toprocess the diagrams for the interpretation of the various parametersobtained in correspondence of the seventeen areas (oxygen, PH,functional blocks, energetical level, inflamation level, toxin presence,chronicity level in correspondence of the various measure levels, etc.).

In conclusion the apparatus according to the invention allows thanks tothe hardware 12 the automatic processing of the collected data, andavoids the risk of a subjective interpretation, for instance theinterpretation carried out with the German apparatuses, which areproviding plotted graphs on paper sheets.

Also the safety is ensured because the power supply 220 V, 50 Hz, iseliminated, which can negatively affect the health state of the patientand the working of the apparatus, which can now work thanks to a powersupply made of 12V. batteries. In such a way, the data collection andprocessing, as well as the test quality are ensured.

At last, the apparatus according to the invention provides abio-energetical-functional instrument, which can verify whether, andaccording to which extent, the various organs or systems of the patientare working well or not (step 180), and how much they depart fromoptimum conditions, which organ or system could be the origin of theproblem and how to prevent the deviation from optimum conditions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for obtaining information from a humanbody, comprising the steps of:detecting values of bio-electrical signalsemitted from a plurality of areas of said human body; storing saidvalues of bio-electrical signals in a processor; stimulating the feet ofsaid human body with a low electrical voltage; stimulating saidplurality of areas with a low electrical voltage; detecting responsesignals from said plurality of areas; and storing said response signals.2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:comparing saidresponse signals with reference data.
 3. The method of claim 2, whereinthe step of comparing said response signals with said reference data isperformed by said processor using a software.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein the step of stimulating the feet is performed by applying anelectrical voltage of not more than 5V.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein the step of stimulating the feet is performed by applying anelectrical voltage having a frequency of about 13 Hz.
 6. The method ofclaim 5, wherein the step of stimulating the plurality of areas isperformed by applying an electrical voltage of not more than 5V.
 7. Themethod of claim 6, wherein the step of stimulating the plurality ofareas is performed by applying an electrical voltage having a frequencyof about 13 Hz.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the stepof:generating a graph representing responses from said plurality ofareas of the human body.
 9. The method of claim 7, further comprisingthe step of:identifying areas of the human body that depart from optimumconditions based on said response signals.